Not surprisingly, plastic bits are also being found in the Great Lakes. This article discusses the issue. Most interesting to me is the assertion that “micro beads” found in toothpastes and various abrading body washes may be a prime culprit.

The 5 Gyres Institute told us that they successfully demonstrated to some of the largest companies in the world that use polyethylene microbeads in consumer products and a number of them have agreed to discontinue the use of microbeads in their products.